Movie Magic

Today, I went to the Movies first time in a while and watched Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever. I went for a few reasons, 1) to see if the hype was true, 2) to see what they did when they had to change the script and 3) to see how much respect Marvel did for the late Chadwick. I decided to go Gold Class and treat myself because it has been a long year, and despite every low, there should be moments of joy.

Screenwriters have a hard job. They have to come up with a story that pleases the CEO and Producers but keeps the heart and purpose of the story they have in mind. They have to make the scenes real enough to keep the audience going but not too dramatic that it seems like overkill. It takes months or years to come up with a draft, only for it to be rewritten. Now, this wasn’t anyone’s fault, but they had to start again. It’s a devasting process. Heartbreaking. Now some reasons for rewriting are budget, disagreements or change of direction but when a cast member dies before filming even starts, this really throws the writers and all involved. There are two options ‘scrap the project’ or ‘let’s redo and honour him.’ I am so glad they did the second.

TV series and Movies have a way of ‘killing’ people off; they either write them out of the series or movie franchise by having them die on-screen or off-screen. Now again, the reasons for this vary from actors walking away, the producer wanting them out or because the storyline needs a change. But when an actor dies between the filming of seasons or during the making of a movie, things have to be different. Take Fast and Furious; Paul Walker's death in 2013 during the production of Furious 7 meant they had to use GCI to finish the movie before having him not return. Westwing mentioned Leo’s death because actor John Spencer passed away. Same with Chadwick Boseman, they had to mention his death to help honour him. Now even though there was drama with the cast and complications with concept, they stuck with it to the very end.

When Stan Lee passed away, they did the Marvel montage with all of Stan’s cameos. As a way to thank him for all he did. Black Panther started the same way with a silent Marvel montage of Chadwick’s appearances. This was only one way they showed honour and respect to him.

I went to the movies to see if the movie was worth the hype, if it was worth the wait, and did they respect Chadwick’s untimely death in a way that would have him remembered. I certainly enjoyed the movie - even though it was long - and it certainly had the characters’ raw emotions because of death. I won’t spoil the movie, but I am glad that Marvel didn’t make a mess of the movie and tried to gloss over the loss of Boseman. I am giving credit to where the credit is due. To the screenwriters and the actors.

Plug and Promote

If you are tired of the same old, same old, then sorry, here comes some more. Plugging and Promoting your own story is problematic. You need people to help promote and plug your book, this is by talking about it, showing it off, or sharing pictures. For the rest of the month, the same picture will be used to promote, but the filters will change. I am thankful that someone is putting a book as a prize for a local event. I am thankful that I was able to take pictures of the book at the cafe and I am happy for the pictures that came in. I am grateful that my book was plugged, at an event with people from everywhere. But I need help, please send pictures of the book you have bought, share the posts and let others know about it. I will be most gracious.

Third Book is OUT

The third time’s the charm people say, well Book number 3 is out on Amazon, - I couldn’t do the exact time I wanted which was 22:11 on 11/11/22. However, the book is available so readers can get 3 books to read this summer. I will now wait at least 10 months before I try to put Book #4 on Amazon; Book 3 is exclusive to Amazon for the first two months and come 2023, it will be available on iTunes and Lulu and Barnes and Noble. I am hoping that from now to the end of the year my sales pick up.

Click the picture to go to the Amazon.

I have decided that I will not be taking my books every week to my local cafe. If the demand isn’t there, why bring the supply? I will wait for people to ask for a book.

I have heard from people who have read my book and getting feedback is heartwarming. I hope those people tell others who will then buy the book.

I have stopped looking at Amazon to see how many purchases or how much I have earned. Last I looked I had no sales for 40 days. I am really hoping that it picks up in the next few weeks leading to December and Christmas.

Trying another path

When self publishing, you are the person that is putting them online, you need to find where people will buy it. I have the first book currently on Amazon, iTunes, Lulu, but as of this week, I am trying a new path, Barnes & Noble. I am stretching my limits, but trying a different online book shop, but I am hoping that more people will find my book and it will be bought.

Snapshot of the Site

The book as an eBook is available on 4 different sites, it has been available since May 1st, so it has been 6 months now. I have sold less than 60 books in total in the physical sense and less than 20 in the eBook version. I am continuing to hope that the book slowly increases in sales approaching Christmas and then I will stop worrying about it and let it flow.

Book Three Pre-Order Available

Today is the 31st of October, All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saint’s Day which is followed by All Souls’ Day on the 2nd (also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, which Roman Catholics and other Christian denomination observe) I have decided to have my third book Class of the Immortal available for Pre-Order on this day.

The image below has the link to find it on Amazon. Over the next week, I will have the page ready with information on the book.

Cover of the Third Book

With the third book available, I am still trying to sell the last of my physical copies of the first book. I have got a few pictures from readers and hoping for more. Please send them through, use this contact me or find me on Instagram or Facebook.

Class of the Immortal: Coming Real Soon

Three more sleeps until the third book is available on Pre-Order in Amazon. That’s right, I plan on releasing the third book of the pentalogy next month, but with a pre-order on the Eve of November. This book is 406 pages long with a few extra pages.

My plan moving forward is to start working on the fourth book in the new year and have that released in 2023, or at least the eBook version of it released in 2023.

First and Foremost

First and Foremost; ALL (BUT A FEW) PHYSICAL COPIES MUST BE SOLD BEFORE DECEMBER 1ST. That’s right, I do not want to have any but a few of the physical printed books in my house when it is December. Why? Because it is the Christmas season and unless someone is buying the book as an extremely last minute Christmas present, I do not want the boxes in the house. I have between 50-60 books left and that gives me about 60 days to sell them. How will I sell them all I have no idea, but this week I at least attempted two firsts.

 

The first first was reading the first few pages of the book - the prologue - live on social media. I am hoping that people listening to the first few pages will be intrigued by the story and buy it. I didn’t want to read too much but I read enough to hopefully captivate them. This was inspired by Sue Whiting and what she calls her Friday Firsts.

Reading my book live on Social Media

The second first, is with the fair being unfortunately cancelled, I set up a table beside a shop and attempted to sell my book there. Though the weather was cold while the sun was out, people did walk by and looked at the cover, asked questions, a handful of people bought the book. People were at least interested and that is important too.

Literacy Lunch, a learning opportunity and hope for future

When you have an interview, they normally ask, where do you see yourself in 5 years time. If I was asked that when I graduated university, I would have said in a classroom but after today, I now can proudly say “I wish to be speaking in front of 90 children and adults about my books.” Today’s event was full of fun, tips and stories.

The CBCA Literacy Lunch was an event I attended back in 2019 when I had the opportunity to listen to authors while I was with the class and met a few fabulous authors, including the amazing Alison Tait, the delightful Di Ellis and the notable Nat Amore. Today, I had the opportunity to help out in the first one that was face-to-face for a few years. And the line-up of authors was extraordinary. We had Nat, Di and Alison return, as well as the sensational Sue Whiting, the debut authors of Dani Vee, Tania Woznicki and Dr Danielle Camer.
Each one told a story about themselves and their books and why they wrote them or how they came up with the idea.

So what does this mean for me, it was a massive learning opportunity, I saw how authors interact with their readers, how they engage the audience. I also heard how the process was, the motivation and the passion. This also gives me hope that I COULD be in front of those readers, the audience and talk about my book.
Because watching the students listen as the authors, talked about cicadas, ducks, sloths, boys and girls that solve mysteries, achieve their dreams. I am only starting my journey, like some of these people. It has been only a few months for me, some who attended today have been doing if for years.

They are still having fun, they are still telling stories and they are still entertaining the readers. Today’s event was a great success, we had students interact with the authors, ask questions, try to guess somethign they brought that had a story. So what do I hope to do in 5 years’s time. I hope that I will be in a room filled with children talking about my books. I hope to share about my journey. One can hope, right?

Interview and Advertisement

On Friday, I had an interview with a student, they were doing a paper on authors, publishers and the process. This was an opportunity to do some “Free Advertising” but also a time to talk about the process of being a self-publisher. She was local, attends the same university I attended and arranged for a face-to-face in a place I am familiar with. The interview was a great dry run of what might happen down the road when my book really hits it off.

She asked me about my childhood, my writing in general, how I created my book and why and how I went down the self-publishing path. I wish her all the best with her assignment and look forward to seeing the result. I hope this always provides that “free advertisement” to those who read it.

Speaking of advertisements, another ad was launched today to last a week. This time I am hoping to get more followers, those to join my Facebook page to find the links to the books then or see my journey. I don’t know how many will follow or like by the end of the week. But if you do happen to find this because of the ad on Facebook, comment below where you are from.